Hyderabad: Faced with fleet constraints, budget carrier Air India Express expects to expand connectivity from the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) to 15 other cities by the end of 2026, a target it had aimed to achieve in the early phase of the new airport's operations.
According to data compiled by Curium, the Tata Group-owned Air India Express currently connects Bengaluru and Delhi to Navi Mumbai International Airport, which began commercial operations on 25 December last year.
IndiGo operates flights from India's newest airport to 13 cities, while Akasa Air flies to four, according to data from Curium.
Daily departures
While IndiGo and Akasa have rolled out most of the routes they announced last year, Air India Express hasn't been able to achieve its stated goal. In September, it had said it would operate 20 daily departures or 40 air traffic movements from and to NMIA, connecting 15 Indian cities in the initial phase of the new airport’s operations. The airline had also said it intended to scale up to 55 daily departures by mid-2026, including up to 5 daily international flights from NMIA.
“Navi Mumbai is a really important part of the network. The expansion will be progressive and we will fly to all 15 destinations in about a year, as our fleet grows,” chief executive officer Aloke Singh told Mint on the sidelines of aviation exhibition Wings India 2026 in Hyderabad on Wednesday. `
Singh cited fleet constraints that have limited the carrier’s planned connectivity expansion.
Fleet constraints continue to be an issue for the airline because of which it is reworking its overall network
Air India Express’s fleet size is about 110. In November, Singh said that the airline would add 20-24 planes in 2026, which would translate to about 2 planes per month.
Singh, however, clarified that Air India Express’s fleet size at the end of 2026 would remain almost unchanged.
“However, fleet size will remain the same. Because there will be returns,” Singh said.
Air India Express is refreshing its fleet with new aircraft, increasing the share of modern planes that deliver superior, more consistent customer experience. As part of this transition, aircraft at the end of their lease terms will be phased out, keeping the overall fleet size unchanged, a company spokesperson told Mint.
Air India Express received its first line-fit aircraft—customised for the company—from Boeing in December 2025. New planes arriving in 2026 are also expected to be line-fit.
The previous induction of 51 aircraft was mostly white tails, which are fully constructed airplanes produced by manufacturers (like Boeing or Airbus) that do not have an immediate, contracted customer. These planes are frequently created when orders are cancelled, during production overruns
On 1 October 2024, Air India Express completed its merger with AIX Connect, previously known as AirAsia India. The Tata Group now operates two airline brands: Air India and the low-cost carrier Air India Express.